OECD Removes Last Three Jurisdictions From Blacklist

04.06.2009

The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has announced that Andorra, Liechtenstein and Monaco have been removed from its list of ‘uncooperative tax havens’.

The OECD said that its Committee on Fiscal Affairs reached the decision to remove the three jurisdictions from its ‘blacklist’ “in the light of political commitments… to implement the OECD standards of transparency and effective exchange of information, and the timetable set for the implementation.”

These three jurisdictions are now considered to have committed to the internationally agreed tax standard but not yet substantially implemented it, and have therefore been elevated to the OECD’s ‘grey list.’

“It is expected that all three jurisdictions will now swiftly implement their commitments,” the OECD stated. This will mean entering into at least a dozen Tax and Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs).

Andorra intends, as soon as its General Council passes the necessary legislation, to conclude a double tax treaty and a TIEA with France, and other member states, by the end of the year. Monaco made a similar commitment to the OECD ahead of the G20 London summit in April.

Liechtenstein declared on March 12 that it will commit to the OECD standard on exchange of information for tax purposes, and stands ready to enter into bilateral tax agreements with individual states.

Liechtenstein has already signed a TIEA with the US and concluded an anti-fraud agreement with the European Union. On April 1, senior representatives of the Liechtenstein government and HM Revenue and Customs met to discuss how to take forward negotiations for a TIEA between the UK and Liechtenstein.